UK Space Agency pledges support for spin-out projects

Making the announcement at the UK Space Conference 2011, the agency said that all the projects had the potential to be developed into terrestrial applications that could benefit society and the UK economy.

‘Most people don’t realise that space technology is all around us and that most of us use space technology every day,’ said Dr David Williams, the agency’s chief executive.

‘The Aurora programme spin-outs are a great example of how industry, academia and government can work together to maximise the output of space research.’

In one project, Astrium, Europe’s leading space company, will be working with experts in the medical field to identify where Aurora space technology can be used or adapted to benefit the NHS, the UK public and UK business.

Meanwhile, Leicester University’s Space Research Centre, along with Magna Parva, are using technology designed to detect trace levels of life in samples of Martian soil to develop a miniaturised sample processing system that enables analysis in situ by unskilled operatives. Such a system would have wide applications, including detection of pollution and contamination, and could be used in commercial, government and defence sectors.